Meet Irfan Ahmad, First Blind Cricketer from Kashmir to Play for India

Updated: October 23, 2018, 12:03 PM IST

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Meet Irfan Ahmad, the 21-year-old from South Kashmir's Pampore town, who recently became the first player from the state to represent India at the international stage in visually impaired cricket. (Image: Zubair Lone)

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Despite having lost vision in both eyes just a few weeks after his birth, Irfan says his life has been nothing short of a dream. (Image: Zubair Lone)

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For Ahmad, Indian national team captain Virat Kohli is his cricket idol, but he himself is more like a Hardik Pandiya kind of a player. (Image: Zubair Lone)

While attending regular school in his village Dursoo, Ahmad started religiously following international cricket matches by listening to the commentary on television or radio.(Image: Zubair Lone)

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Irfan Ahman plays a shot. (Image: Zubair Lone)

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Ahmad was included in the 18 man squad to face England in a three-match T20 series in Bengaluru. (Image: Zubair Lone)

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(Image: Zubair Lone)

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An all-round cricketer by trade, Ahmad's love affair with the game started at a young age. (Image: Zubair Lone)

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His mother Salema recalls he was only three-years-old when he first picked up a cricket bat. (Image: Zubair Lone)

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While the news of his selection in the Indian team came as a surprise to many in his native village, but for him, it was an acknowledgement of his hard work despite facing odds from the start. (Image: Zubair Lone)